


Cooking Contraband

by aeternamente



Category: Kissing in the Rain (Web Series)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-05
Updated: 2014-05-05
Packaged: 2018-01-22 02:35:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1572980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aeternamente/pseuds/aeternamente
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Audrey Porter cooks lasagna.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cooking Contraband

Audrey Porter felt a little weird about being simultaneously one of the few people that was in on the Jily secret and one of the many people trying to start a Hollywood acting career.

She was staying with her brother at his house while she got settled. Their father insisted that she not get an apartment of her own until she at least had a job and was absolutely sure this was what she wanted to do with her life. “I don’t want you getting the idea that it’ll be easy to make it just because James is successful. He was lucky. Talented too, but everyone’s talented. That’s no guarantee of anything.”

She was hearing that from basically everyone, that she wasn’t going to get it easy just because she was James’s little sister, and she knew that, but it didn’t make her love acting any less. So here she was, armed with head shots and a demo reel and (hopefully) enough stamina to keep going until she landed a role.

All in all, it was nice living with James. Sure, she missed having bread and dairy and tomatoes, but she did not miss the rickety plumbing, loudly arguing neighbors, and communal laundry situations that had come with every apartment she’d lived in during and since college.

Somewhere in the middle of those two extremes was Audrey’s reaction to Lily’s frequent presence in the house. It wasn’t that she didn’t  _like_  Lily, but it was a little intimidating to be in the same living space as someone so successful and confident, whose personality was a bit sharp around the edges. She made an effort because she knew how important it was to James that they should like each other, but she always felt a little out of place trying to talk to her, like a lowly serf having the audacity to speak in the presence of royalty.

They’d get there eventually, Audrey was sure, and all things considered, she really had it better than any aspiring actress had a right to expect, restricted diet and all. And she could always heat up a frozen lasagna when she knew James wouldn’t be home for dinner, just like she was doing tonight. The rich smell of ricotta mingling with marinara permeated the kitchen, making her mouth water, and she couldn’t wait to get some decent carbs inside her.

The front door opened and shut and Audrey frowned. James had said he wouldn’t be home until late tonight.

"Hey I’m sorry," she called. "I’m making contraband for dinner, but I didn’t think you’d be—home… this early…"

It was Lily, not James.

"I guess James isn’t here?" she asked. She was in a cute, springy green dress and her eyeliner was perfect, and her hair was pulled up into a tidy little knot the likes of which Audrey could never hope to achieve with her own unnecessarily thick, wayward hair.

"No," Audrey responded, hopping down from the countertop where she’d been inelegantly perched. "No, he texted me to cancel our dinner plans. He’s going to be on set longer than he thought…"

Lily nodded. “Oh, okay.”

They stood awkwardly for several moments.

"Do you want some lasagna?" Audrey offered. "I mean it’s not from scratch or anything, just Stouffer’s." She held up the box. "But you know, I was craving tomatoes."

"I’m gluten intolerant," Lily said.

Audrey kicked herself mentally. “Oh right, I forgot.”

"Thanks, though." Lily smiled. Genuinely. And… a little nervously? For the first time, it occurred to Audrey that maybe Lily was just as uncertain about this as she was. "I’ll just…" she gestured toward the door to indicate she was leaving.

"Okay," Audrey said. "See you around."

Lily nodded and smiled again, and left.

A minute later, the timer  _ping_ ed, and Audrey pulled her perfectly golden-brown and bubbling lasagna out of the oven.


End file.
